What went so wrong? About the electoral results of 2016

The polls were wrong or we chose to look the other way? There is definitely a growing conviction that they were looking at a different situation, that they fell short in identifying a new democratic electorate. Now that we are listening to some legislators from Wisconsin or Michigan, there are doubts being raised about how misleading it was to have taken the electoral results in those states in Obama´s 2012 election as a starting point for Clinton.

The campaign turned from a plebiscite about Trump to a referendum against Washington. It was a risk that proved to be worthless to attack Trump in his moral and ethical behavior, but what was really effective was to make it a cause against the establishment, given that Trump not only was fighting democrats, he was also confronting rejection within the party he is representing.

The political views and proposals, as opposing as they are, were second to the more dynamic discussion about the traits of both candidates. The central message of the campaign trail focused on how bad Trump was and why Clinton was the only resource to prevent a disaster, rather than the discussion of policy proposals.

The outcome has created a backlash towards the media and its influence. And there is a lot of mea culpa in the MSM circuit of talk shows, there is perplexity in some, and frustration in others. There is a sense that media should do some soul searching and reflect on the role played during one of the most controversial and critical elections in recent times.

There are concerns about the conservative shift of the future administration, and the possible loss of important liberal milestones such as abortion rights, LGBT rights. Those are legitimate concerns and the more support is brought to the cause, the more it will act as a retaining wall against the intentions of the government.

There are some elements of populism that alarm the liberal grounds of American democracy. The constant reference to please the people, even if it implies ignoring legal procedures and structures, reminds us of not a few populist leaders.

There is unease among Muslims, immigrants and other minorities. The aggressive tone during the campaign set the alarms and the consequences of a belligerent message are barely starting, it is not a matter of ideology, it is about freedom.

There are great concerns about the economy and foreign relations. The stability of the global capitalist system depends on the American economy, thus, the decisions the new President has to make will affect economies around the world.

Immigration, the war on terror, health insurance, student loans and college education are issues that have to be addressed beyond the promises made during the campaign. The challenge will be to deliver beyond ideological constraints, the signal will come from the appointments of the cabinet.

The Supreme Court nomination will show the path that this administration plans to follow, the fear of a backlash in significant social conquests is of the utmost concern.